On the same day a Baltimore youth was killed and four of his peers from Edmondson Westside High School were hurt during a shooting near Edmondson Village Shopping Center, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott led a Jan. 4 Vigil of Remembrance for those lives lost to violence in 2022.
The ceremony, livestreamed from City Hall on the mayor’s Facebook page, also recognized the lives of those who died from drug overdoses, suicide and COVID-19 last year.
Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, C.Ss.R, urban vicar for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, was among several city, religious and community leaders who prayed for the 334 people killed last year in the city.
“Luke’s gospel tells us that Jesus drew near to the city, and as he saw it, he wept over it,” Bishop Lewandowski said. “The passage goes as follows: ‘As he drew near, he saw the city and he wept. He said, ‘If this day you only knew what makes for peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes.’”
In his prayer, the bishop expressed the city’s collective heartbreak, sadness and tears.
“Some weep because their loved ones were lost,” he said. “Violence took children from parents, and parents from children – brothers and sisters from each other. Families are broken by violence, steeped in enduring sadness and grief. Some weep crying tears of disbelief and tears of disbelief and shock. They never knew their son or brother or father had it in him to take a life, to kill.”
Others weep because Baltimore is no more the city they remember, the bishop said.
“They’re homesick for a city of happy memory,” he said.
Bishop Lewandowski prayed that people become aware they have the capacity to “put the gun down and to walk away.”
Mayor Scott told those gathered that any progress the city had made to prevent violence hasn’t been enough. He expressed his own personal emotional pain, weariness and discouragement at the loss the city experienced last year.
“Every single soul in this city must commit themselves to doing more,” the mayor said, “then we will truly see Baltimore become the best, safest version of itself.”
Ivan Bates, Baltimore’s newly sworn-in state’s attorney, lamented that an entire generation is being lost to violence. He pledged that his office would focus on illegal handguns so often involved in criminal activity. He also promised to have a “laser focus” on the people committing violent crimes and to be a support to families.
“We’re saying enough is enough,” Bates said.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore is an active partner in reaching out to families touched by violence. Through its Grief Ministry, parishioners throughout the archdiocese pray for families during weekly services and provide sympathy notes to families that have suffered a loss in the past month and those experiencing the one-year anniversary of losing a loved one. Volunteers also provide care packages to those who have lost loved ones.
In collaboration with the Baltimore City Department of Health and the Mayor’s Office for Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, Catholic Charities is a manager of the Safe Streets program that aims at reducing violence.
Bishop Lewandowski asked the Lord to help those affected by crime to sow seeds of peace, justice, compassion, hope, mercy and love.
“Even as we weep, we know that all things are possible with you,” he prayed.
To read more on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s grief ministry, click below:
Archdiocesan grief ministry helps families of those lost to acts of violence
Sacred Heart parishioners, Archdiocese’s Grief Ministry deliver Thanksgiving meals
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